Revision: Life Span Development Psychology ISC (Arts) Class 12 CISCE

• According to Lewis Terman, “An ability to think on an abstract level is called Intelligence.”
• According to David Wechsler, ‘Intelligence is the aggregate or global capacity of an individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment.’
• According to Binet (1905), “Intelligence refers to comprehension, intention, direction, and criticism.”
• According to Wyatt, “Intelligence is the power of apprehending the relationship between things.”
• According to Stern, “Intelligence is a general mental adaptability to new problems and conditions.”
• Spearman (1904), “Intelligence is the capacity for constructive thinking, a discovery of appropriate qualities and relations of the ideas that are before us.”
• According to Thurstone (1930), “Intelligence consists of many primary abilities.”
• Thus, Kimbel and Germazy state, “Intelligence consists of the abilities that a society values, because they are useful in meeting the society’s current needs. When these needs change, the abilities that define intelligence change.”

Adolescence is the period between the beginning of sexual maturation and entry into adult life.

According to P. T. Young, "Emotion is an acute disturbance of the body (organism) as a whole, psychological in origin involving behaviour, conscious experience and visceral functioning."

Gender Identity can be defined as "the conceptions that individuals have of themselves as being male or female."

• It is an eating disorder in which individuals engage in recurrent episodes to binge eating followed by some form of purging.
• Bulimia nervosa is an episodic, uncontrolled, and rapid ingestion or eating of large quantities of food over a short period of time, which is called binge eating, followed by some kind of temporary behaviour to prevent weight gain, like vomiting after eating, fasting, misuse of laxatives, and certain exercises, which are potentially harmful to the person's health. (Baron-2004)

Human Development = Heredity × Environment

• Development is lifelong and involves physical, mental, emotional, and social growth.
• Biological factors like intelligence, hormones, nutrition, and gender affect the pace of development.
• Environmental factors such as sunlight, health, culture, and living conditions play a big role in growth.
• Social and emotional factors such as family support and sibling influence affect confidence and learning.
• A child’s development improves with good food, care, and education, but slows with illness, stress, or poor conditions.

• Intelligence is the ability to learn, reason, solve problems, and adapt to new situations.
• It involves thinking rationally and dealing effectively with the environment.
• Intelligence is multi-dimensional, not limited to academic marks.
• It is shaped by both heredity and environment.
• It includes different abilities like logical, linguistic, social, and practical skills.
• Intelligence helps in academic success and everyday problem-solving.

• Meaning: Heredity is the passing of traits (physical & mental) from parents to children through genes.
• Pintner’s View: Heredity sets potential; environment helps develop it, but cannot create new abilities.
• Pearson’s Research: Found strong inheritance of both physical and mental traits, like intelligence.
• Role in Development: Heredity influences looks, intelligence, behavior, and emotional tendencies.
• Modern View: Heredity and environment work together—genes give capacity, environment shapes its use.

• A child’s development is shaped by their environment and interactions.
• Five systems: Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem, Chronosystem.
• All systems are connected—a change in one affects others.
• The theory shows the importance of real-life surroundings like family, school, and culture.
• The Bioecological Model (PPCT) adds biology and time to explain development.

• Bronfenbrenner’s theory says a child’s development is shaped by five layers of environment:
• Microsystem – Direct contact (family, school, friends)
• Mesosystem – Connections (e.g., parent–teacher meetings)
• Exosystem – Indirect effects (e.g., parents’ job stress)
• Macrosystem – Culture, values, and society
• Chronosystem – Life changes over time (e.g., divorce, technology)
• He later added biology (the Bioecological Model), saying that both genes and the environment affect development.

• Infancy lasts from birth to 2 years and includes two stages: Neonatal (0–14 days) and Babyhood (2 weeks–2 years).
• In the neonatal stage, the baby adjusts to breathing and feeding, with uncontrolled body movements and weight loss.
• In babyhood, the child begins gaining muscle control, learns basic skills like eating and walking, and shows independence.
• Example: A baby may try to dress or feed themselves and say, “I’ll do it myself!”

• The prenatal period is the fastest growth phase before birth.
• All organs begin forming in the mother’s womb.
• Germinal Stage (Weeks 1–2): Fertilization happens, and the cell divides and implants in the uterus.
• Embryonic Stage (Weeks 3–8): Major organs begin forming; the heart starts beating.
• Fetal Stage (Weeks 9–40): The baby grows, organs mature, and the body prepares for birth.

• Vision: Newborns respond to light; eye coordination improves within weeks; they can see 8 inches away at birth and track moving lights.
• Hearing: Hearing is present but poor at birth; neonates respond to loud, rhythmic sounds (e.g., heartbeat, lullabies); sensitivity improves quickly.
• Smell & Taste: Basic smell and taste present at birth; babies prefer sweet, avoid bitter; facial reactions show preferences.
• Pain & Temperature: Babies react to hot/cold and pain (e.g., pulling away); sensitivity grows over days; girls may show more pain response.
• Emotions & Movement: Early emotions are general (excitement); movements are mass activity (head, limbs); reflexes help adapt behaviour.

• Children learn to control their actions and begin to influence their surroundings.
• From ages 2–5, they start making friends and learning manners.
• Ages 6–12 bring growth in social and moral understanding.
• By 12–13, group activities and teamwork become very important.

• Adolescence is the stage between childhood and adulthood (ages 10–19), marked by fast physical and emotional changes.
• It has three stages: Early (10–14), Middle (15–17), and Late (18–19), each with different body and thinking developments.
• Puberty brings sexual and physical changes due to hormones—testosterone in boys and oestrogen in girls.
• Physical changes include growth in height, changes in body shape, changes in voice, and increased sweat/oil production.
• Emotional and social changes include mood swings, seeking independence, peer pressure, and identity formation.

• Starts Early: The Nervous system begins 3 weeks after conception.
• Prenatal Growth: Rapid growth in the first 8 weeks; the head is large.
• Postnatal Growth: Fast development in the first 3–4 years after birth.
• Brain Weight at Birth: 1/8 of body weight.
• Brain Weight Later: 1/18 at 10 yrs, 1/25 at 15 yrs.

• Motor development is how babies learn to move and control muscles.
• It follows two patterns: head-to-toe and center-to-limbs.
• It helps babies sit, walk, run, and hold things — making them more independent.
• Reflexes are automatic actions (like sucking or grasping) that protect babies and help them survive.
• Babies start with random full-body movements that later become specific and controlled.
• Reflexes such as the grasping reflex and Moro reflex disappear as they grow and learn.

• Locomotor development is how children learn to walk and move.
• It allows them to explore, play, and become independent.
• It begins with crawling or creeping, then standing and walking, usually by 12–15 months.
• Researchers such as Ames, McGraw, and Burnside studied the stages of crawling and locomotion.
• Learning to walk is a big milestone that makes families proud and happy.

• Bipedal locomotion means walking on two legs, a key human skill learned in steps.
• Babies go through four stages before walking:
• Rolling Over (1.8–5.8 months) – from back to stomach.
• Sitting Up (2.5–8.3 months) – balance in sitting position.
• Standing (8.1–9 months) – holding furniture to stand.
• Walking (8.8–13.8 months) – from first steps to smooth walking.
• Each stage builds muscle control and balance needed for walking.

• Meaning: Motor development = muscle control for big & small movements.
• 0–3 Months: Lifts head (gross), grasps finger (fine).
• 4–6 Months: Rolls over (gross), holds toys (fine).
• 7–9 Months: Crawls (gross), transfers objects (fine).
• 10–12 Months: Walks assisted (gross), picks up small items (fine).

• Jean Piaget explained that children’s thinking develops in stages as they grow.
• Learning happens through adaptation, using two processes: assimilation (using old ideas) and accommodation (changing ideas).
• The four stages are: Sensorimotor (0–2 years), Preoperational (2–7 years), Concrete Operational (7–11 years), and Formal Operational (12+ years).
• In each stage, children understand and solve problems differently, based on their mental development.
• A child calling a leaf a butterfly shows assimilation, and learning the difference shows accommodation.

• The sensory-motor stage (0–2 years) is when babies learn through senses and movements, not language.
• In the Reflex stage (0–1 month), babies respond with basic actions like sucking and grasping.
• From 1–8 months, they repeat actions for fun or effects (e.g., thumb sucking, shaking toys).
• Between 8–18 months, they begin to solve simple problems and try new actions (e.g., moving objects, experimenting).
• By 18–24 months, babies begin to imagine and pretend, showing early signs of thinking with symbols.

• Ages 4–7: Intuitive thought develops, but still limited logical thinking.
• Children start using logic based on what they see and understand words like “more” and “less.”
• They can group and classify objects, but still focus on one feature (centration).
• Thinking has limits—irreversibility, lack of conservation, and egocentric speech.
• Language becomes more social; children begin using pronouns and sharing ideas.
• Family, culture, and environment affect their cognitive and language development.

• Children understand that changing the shape of something doesn’t change its amount (conservation).
• They can group things in more than one way, like by color and size (classification).
• They can put things in order, like shortest to tallest (seriation).
• They know some actions can be undone in their mind (reversibility).
• They can think about many things at once, like height and width together (decentration).

• At birth, infants show only general excitement without specific emotions.
• By 6 months, basic emotions like fear, anger, delight, disgust, and distress become visible.
• By 1 year of age, most emotions become distinct and specific (emotion differentiation).
• After 2 years, children begin to experience and express grief.
• Between 2 and 7 years, language development triggers new emotions, such as verbal anger and fear.

• Attachment is a strong emotional bond between an infant and a caregiver, expressed through clinging, seeking comfort, and seeking closeness.
• Harlow’s experiment showed that infant monkeys preferred soft, comforting “mothers” over those that only provided food—proving that emotional comfort is key in attachment.
• Bowlby believed attachment is inborn; children seek caregivers more when frightened or punished, which strengthens the bond.
• In humans, attachment grows through daily loving care—talking, touching, feeding, and comforting by the mother or main caregiver.
• Attachment is two-way, changing with age and experience, and is shaped by both the child’s and caregiver’s responses and actions.

• Mary Ainsworth created the Strange Situation Test (1965) to study how babies form emotional bonds with caregivers.
• The test has eight episodes involving separations and reunions between the baby, mother, and a stranger.
• It observes how babies react when left alone, with a stranger, and when the mother returns.
• The test identifies attachment types: Secure, Anxious-Avoidant, and Anxious-Ambivalent.
• A securely attached baby is happy and calms quickly when the mother returns; others may avoid or resist contact.

• Meaning: Gender typing is how children learn roles and behaviors considered right for boys or girls in their culture.
• Influences: Parents, family, society, and culture teach gender roles through actions and expectations.
• Examples: Boys are praised for sports, girls for helping at home; toys and career choices are often gendered.
• Stereotypes: Long-term gender typing creates fixed ideas about what each gender should do.
• Change is Possible: Supportive families and society can help break these stereotypes (e.g., girls in sports, boys in dance).

• Meaning: Gender stereotypes are fixed, often false beliefs about how males and females should behave, affecting real understanding of individuals.
• Examples: Men are seen as strong and dominant; women as emotional and submissive—these generalizations limit personal growth and opportunities.
• Impact: Stereotyping leads to discrimination, the loss of talent, unequal treatment, and slows socio-economic development.
• Change is Possible: Education, awareness, training, and social change can reduce stereotypes and promote gender equality.
• Role of Society: Parents, teachers, and media must avoid spreading biased ideas and support equal opportunities for both genders.

• Delinquency: Wrong acts by teens under 18 due to stress or problems.
• Causes: Broken home, bad parenting, poverty, peer pressure, mental issues.
• Features: Happens in teens, impulsive actions, influenced by friends.
• Handling: Special courts, counselling, reformatory homes, expert help.
• Prevention: Supportive parents/teachers, group activities, better living, and education.

• Eating disorders are serious problems related to eating habits and body image, often starting in adolescence.
• Anorexia nervosa involves fear of weight gain, very little eating, and severe weight loss.
• Bulimia nervosa involves binge eating followed by purging like vomiting or using laxatives.
• Binge eating disorder involves repeated uncontrolled eating without purging.
• Other types include pica (eating non-food items) and rumination disorder (re-chewing food).

• Conscience, also called the superego (Freud), is the inner voice that tells us what is right or wrong.
• It is shaped by parents, teachers, media, books, and social surroundings.
• Children develop conscience through experience, imitation, and advice from trusted adults.
• A warm, loving mother–child bond and love-oriented discipline help build a strong conscience.
• According to Skinner, rewards for good behaviour and withdrawal of love for bad behaviour teach children moral values.

• Conscience is the inner sense of right and wrong, and morality means behaving in a socially accepted way.
• Children develop a strong conscience when they have a warm, loving bond with parents (Sears & Maccoby, 1957).
• A lack of affection and identification with parents can weaken the conscience and lead to poor values or delinquent behaviour.
• Morality begins through imitation—children copy elders and learn to avoid socially wrong actions.
• Before age 12, children’s moral views are rigid and hard to change if they believe something is wrong or unjust.

• Young children follow rules strictly and obey adults without question.
• Around 9–12 years old, children begin thinking for themselves and judging actions by their intentions, not just their results.
• Piaget described two types of morality:
• Heteronomous (rules are fixed; focus on punishment).
• Autonomous (rules can change; focus on intention).
• Family, religion, and friends shape a child’s sense of right and wrong.
• A well-developed conscience helps control bad behavior; poor moral development may lead to lying, stealing, or aggression.

• Cognitive maturity is needed to develop a clear sense of right and wrong.
• Moral growth includes moving from rigid rules to flexible thinking, in which intentions matter more than actions.
• Example: Killing in self-defence or stealing food due to hunger isn’t judged the same as doing it for selfish reasons.
• Moral dilemmas (e.g., stealing to save a life) help people think deeply and grow morally.
• Morality is influenced by culture, but some moral values are shared across the world.

• Stage 1: Right and wrong are based on punishment—avoid getting into trouble.
• Stage 2: Actions are right if they benefit self or others—simple give and take.
• Stage 3: Be “good” to please close people like parents or friends.
• Stage 4: Follow rules and laws to keep society in order.
• Stage 5: Focus on human rights—laws can be changed if unfair.
• Stage 6 (later removed): Decisions based on universal ethical values.
• Stage 7: Morality comes from personal ethical beliefs.